“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 18) (PART 19)

Four months later, the Glee club was riding high from their winning performance at Regionals. Sam Evans proved to be a perfect addition to their group. He got along with everyone, handled a guitar, and he turned out to be one of their best male singers. Kurt always took the title of course, but if anyone had to be second, Sam was hands down the next choice. Rachel was so grateful to Charlie for bringing him in.

Things were getting a little bit better with them every day now. They talked a little more, laughed a little more. Eye contact wasn’t quite so uncomfortable as it used to be. The closer they got to normal again, the happier Rachel was. She was so afraid to lose Charlie as her friend, someone she really did love, and after everything that happened, she was sure that was lost. Now? Now she had hope.

“I want us to go on a double date with Charlotte and Sam.”

Quinn looked up from her homework and stared at Rachel.

“You’ve lost your mind. Okay. That’s it. Drop the math book.”

“I’m serious!” she tried to keep a straight face, but Quinn dove for her book and she had a giggling fit while trying to wrestle away. “No! Leave my book alone!”

“It’s melted your brain!”

“What is so wrong about a double date with your sister? They’ve been an official item for over a month now. I just saw them kissing in the hallway yesterday.”

She didn’t mention the slight twinge she had felt in her stomach when she’d walked by the couple attached at the mouth. It didn’t mean anything.

“I think it would do us all some good to spend time together.”

Quinn sighed, dropping her full weight on top of Rachel and groaned into her shoulder. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“I’m an evil, evil girlfriend.”

The blonde looked back at her warily. “Are you sure about this? I don’t even know if Charlie will…”

“Make her.”

“Oh, like that actually works.”

“You can do it,” she said confidently and pecked her on the lips. “I have complete faith in you.”

Narrowing her eyes, Quinn watched her for a moment, and Rachel was sure she was going to say something, but then she seemed to change her mind. The crease in her forehead disappeared and she smirked.

“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want me to make this happen.”

Rachel didn’t hesitate and flipped them over in a flash.

Two days later they were all sitting together at a booth in Breadstix. Rachel didn’t know how Quinn managed to get her twin to agree to this, but she didn’t ask. Perhaps it was better she didn’t know everything that went on with those two.

“So…” Sam said after a long silence, “This is, like, totally awkward.”

“Really awkward,” Quinn agreed, glaring good-naturedly at Rachel who sat next to her.

Charlie hadn’t said a word to Rachel since she walked in with Sam and that was fifteen minutes ago.

“I wish we had been able to change out of uniforms,” Quinn groaned. “But Coach has spies following us just to make sure we wear them out in public during the school week at all times.”

“To keep people thinking about the Cheerios?” Sam asked.

She nodded. “Out of sight, out of mind, she says.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Charlie muttered.

“I happen to think the uniform is quite flattering on both of you,” Rachel said, taking a sip of her chai latte she had brought with her from the Lima Bean. She knew she was going to need something to get her through this night.

Charlie looked at her, Sam nodded in agreement, and Quinn stared at her water.

“Have you started working on writing songs for Nationals?” Charlie asked suddenly, her eyes having never left Rachel.

“Oh.” She swallowed thickly. It was strange how taken aback she was that Charlie had spoken to her directly for the first time this evening. “Um…well…a little. Nothing’s really come of it yet.”

“If it’s anything like that song you and Quinn did for Regionals, we’re gonna kill in New York,” Sam said with a smile.

The two girls beamed at him and they started chatting about how amazing it was to win that night, going over all the steps of the performance in detail, how they caught one of the other team’s coach’s weeping in the corner afterwards while clutching a stuffed giraffe.

“Hey, Rachel?” Charlie broke in again after another prolonged silence.

Quinn glared at her sister, not liking the tone in her voice.

“Write a song with me?”

“Y-you want to write one together?”

“Yeah,” she nodded slowly with an inching smile. “Actually, I think the four of us should try it.” She looked at Sam and Rachel couldn’t see but she knew Charlie had just put her hand on his leg. “Sam’s a really good song writer. He just doesn’t like to talk about it.”

The boy blushed and shook his head. “Naw, I don’t even know what I’m doing.”

“You want all four of us to collaborate on the songs for Nationals?” Quinn repeated with an edge in her voice.

“Yes, Quinn!” Charlie retorted exasperatedly. “That’s what I just said.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Rachel jumped in happily and grinned at Sam. “It’d be great to have someone else’s input and especially since you’ve already been dabbling…”

“No,” Quinn said flatly.

“No?” Rachel echoed, looking at her girlfriend in confusion.

Quinn was still staring down Charlie.

“But it’s better to have-”

Charlie held her hands up in forfeit and Quinn shifted restlessly in her seat. “Fine. You got me.”

“Got what?” Sam asked, looking just as confused as Rachel felt. They seemed to be missing something that occurred between the twins.

“I don’t just want to write the song for Nationals, I want to sing it,” Charlie said and looked at Sam with a shy smile. “I want us to sing it.”

“You want to do a duet with Sam?” Quinn echoed in disbelief.

Rachel broke into an enormous smile. Happiness broke over in waves. It was like something had been changed inside of her right then, a switch flipped, a curtain pulled back or even down. The twinge in her stomach was gone. She knew it would never come back.

Somehow, in that moment, she could see that she had Charlie again. Rachel knew that smile, she knew that tone, she knew that look in the girl’s eyes. Charlie was in love with Sam, but even more than that, Charlie had forgiven her. This is where they were, this is where they had been before the twins had pulled that godforsaken switch of theirs.

“That’s never going to happen,” Rachel said easily.

“Excuse me?” Charlie glared at her.

“You really think I’m going to give up my spotlight, my solo, and our chance for winning Nationals just because you want to sing with your boyfriend?”

“It’s called charm and chemistry,” Charlie shot back. “Sometimes that works even better than just a voice.”

“Which is why I’ll be performing with Quinn, we’ll have the complete package,” she said smugly.

She leaned over the table, jabbing her finger at her. “Oh it is SO on, Berry! We’re auditioning. The Glee club decides.”

“Fine. Quinn and I look forward to kicking you both squarely in the behind.”

“What is going on here?” Sam whispered to Quinn, looking freaked out.

Quinn shook her head with a smile, watching Rachel and Charlie bicker, and felt Rachel’s hand absently slip higher up her thigh. Relief flooded her body. Relief she hadn’t known for almost half a year now. This could possibly be one of the best nights of her life.

“It’s just Rachel and Charlie again.”

“Again?” he echoed.

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “It’s how they work.”

“We’re not wearing red!” Rachel screeched all of a sudden and Quinn hissed for her to quiet down while the patrons looked round at them in bewilderment.

“It’s a fantastic color on me, as well as your darling girlfriend.”

“I know what Quinn looks good in! That’s beside the point! It’s not the right color scheme for our natural chemistry as a group.”

“Rachel?” Quinn broke in sternly.

The smaller girl looked at her.

“Relax. We’ve got it in the bag. There’s no way they’ll beat us.”

“Hah!” she cried victoriously and turned back on Charlie with a ‘take that’ look.

“Now just hold on!” Sam jumped in. “We could totally kick ass if we wanted to. You guys are good, but so are we!” He looked to Charlie with a nod.

“So the war begins!” Rachel smacked her hand on the table. “May the best couple win!”

“Which will be us,” Sam said.

“Guess again!” Quinn shot back.

They bickered good-naturedly for the rest of the night, throughout dinner, and even in the parking lot before they left to go to their separate cars. Sam was driving Charlie home while Quinn was staying at Rachel’s for the night. Before they parted ways, Charlie wrapped her arms around Rachel in a fierce hold. She sighed in relief, the final weight on her shoulders lifted off at long last.

“I’m always going to love you,” Charlie whispered.

“I’ll always love you too,” Rachel murmured. “Don’t go away again, okay?”

“I won’t,” she promised and released her. “We’re actually happy, aren’t we, Rach?”

The brunette smiled and looked to Quinn who was heading towards the car, rummaging through her purse for the keys, and then at Sam who was leaning against his truck watching them.

“Yeah,” she sighed contentedly, “we really are.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“Day One!”

Charlie laughed, rolling her eyes. “Good night, Rachel.”

“Good night, Charlotte.”

When she reached the car where Quinn was waiting, she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and kissed her soundly.

“There,” she said breathlessly when they broke apart, “that wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” she admitted.

“Quinn?”

“Hm?”

“Just to let you know…I want to marry you someday.”

“Well, just to let you know…I was already planning on it.”

“So we’re on the same page?”

“We are.”

“Just make sure Charlie doesn’t wear a wedding gown on the day of, okay?”

“That is so not funny.”

karanna1:

“Finally! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! What are you doing in here of all places?”

“Of all places? It’s the library and I’m looking at music. See?” She held up a record. “You know, that stuff your girlfriend likes so much?”

“If I knew you were gonna be in a mood…”

“Just ask me the favor.”

She leaned in. “I want to skip practice today to give Rachel a surprise for her birthday. Coach will kill me if I do it again, so I was thinking…”

“Hah! I am NOT taking your place.”

“Charlie! Come on! I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”

“I quit cheerleading ages ago. I wouldn’t even be able to keep up. They’d figure it out in a second.”

“Don’t even try. You could do it blindfolded. Why else would Coach still be trying to recruit you after all these years? She’s dying to have your talent on the team. The two of us alone would win nationals for her.”

“You chose the uniform, Quinn. Not me.”

“Please? Just this once? All you have to do is channel me and run the rest of the squad ragged for a few hours.”

“Oh, so I get free range to be a bitch, is what you’re saying.”

“Exactly,” she replied smugly. “You know you’d love the chance to let off some steam. Besides, you owe me, sis. I’m calling in the favor.”

Having no other choice, Charlie begrudgingly agreed, and her sister was more than pleased. They switched clothes after their last class and headed in opposite directions. Charlie really hated these stupid uniforms, they were too revealing and so uncomfortable. This was her sister’s gig, not hers. She may have been good at it, but she never had the passion for cheerleading that Quinn did, and definitely not for the responsibilities that came along with it. Charlie was more than content to leave cheerleading and the ruling of McKinley High to her sister, as long as it meant she got to be left alone to do what she wanted. And that’s exactly what she got. The situation worked out perfectly for them both.

Though they shared their looks, the similarities ended there. Neither sister could understand why the other wanted the life they wanted. Charlie couldn’t fathom why Quinn would choose to be put in the spotlight with all the pressure and social drama she had to handle. Not to mention the histrionics of Sue Sylvester. She was not looking forward to the next few hours with that demon. Damn favors.

“Quinn!” Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs, causing Charlie to stop where she was. “I received your note, but please do not tell me you’re planning to skip practice again. Especially after what Coach Sylvester put you through last time…”

She should be telling Rachel who she was right now… Why wasn’t she doing that? Why did she still have her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face that was so perfectly ascribed to her sister’s persona?

Rachel sighed exasperatedly and came down the stairs to meet her.

“You’re sweet to want to do that for me, baby, but I don’t want you to get in trouble. Okay?”

Why was her heart racing like this? Why couldn’t she speak? Why did her knees feel weak to have her sister’s girlfriend so near?

Then Rachel kissed her.

“Go to practice,” she urged with a soft smile on her face and Charlie knew she was the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. “I’ll meet you afterwards and we can have that surprise then.”

As Charlie walked through the halls, her head held high and hands on her hips as she effortlessly channeled her sister, people scattering to let her through, she thought maybe there was something to Quinn’s life after all.

“The Switch”

(PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4)(PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 18) (PART 19) (PART 20)

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 18) (PART 20)

Charlie went to Coach Sylvester the next day and was promptly handed a uniform, berated for taking so long to join, told to get the hell out of the office, and that she better kick ass on the field or Sue would be kicking hers. Quinn wisely chose not to say anything when her sister came to class glowering in the identical uniform with her hair swept up into a ponytail. The rest of the class was confused and many started to ask questions, but the more than ever identical sisters told them all to shut their mouths.

Charlie really did love the sport itself, it was just all the other things that came with it that she had a problem with, but if it turned out that her passion for cheerleading wasn’t what it used to be, quitting was not something she was at all opposed to. But at least now she was giving herself the chance. She had Rachel to thank for that.

The two of them had spoken very little after what happened in the auditorium. It wasn’t an angry divide, but it was a sad one. Rachel didn’t apologize to her for what happened and Charlie was grateful, because apologizing would have made it worse. She knew the other girl felt like she’d made a mistake by kissing her, but Charlie didn’t want to be thought of as only a mistake. She meant something to Rachel, all three of them knew it. So she was not about to be dismissed as only the ‘mistake’. When they ran into each other now, the two girls smiled and said “hello”, but that was all.

It wouldn’t be for forever. Time needed to do some healing first. They both knew that.

It was a little over two weeks later when Sam Evans called her name.

“Hey, Charlie!”

He walked through the crowd towards her locker still sporting the leftover shiner from last week’s practice where Finn had ‘accidentally’ elbowed him in the face. He wasn’t taking the demotion too well, but even after his suspension was lifted, he wasn’t able to convince Coach Beiste to give him back his spot. Not because of the suspension, but because Sam was the better player and Finn wasn’t able to best him.

Thus, the elbow.

“Dude, you’re gonna kill it today!” A guy in the hall cheered loudly as he went by, causing a bunch of others to shout out in agreement.

Ah, right, they had a game today. The football team had miraculously started on a winning streak the moment Sam stepped onto the field as quarterback. School spirit had never been higher. Quinn thought it was hilarious and that the whole school should bow down to her sister for making it happen. Charlie wanted it kept under wraps, as always, but she thought it was funny too.

“Evans!” she cried with a smile. “Got the game in hand today, don’t you?”

“Hope so,” he replied, ducking his head shyly.

They weren’t exactly friends, more like acquaintances, but enough to acknowledge each other in the hall and make small talk when there wasn’t anyone better around. She didn’t think he was doing anything more than saying hello so she gathered her things and closed her locker.

“I’ll put my money on you,” she said with a wink and went to leave, but there was a hand on her elbow.

She turned back and looked up at him curiously. It was then that she noticed how sweaty the boy was. He seemed incredibly nervous, like he was about to…

Oh, no. Tell me he’s not.

“I was, um, wondering… I mean, I know we don’t know each other that well and all, but I was kinda thinking, maybe you’d, uh, want to go out with me sometime? Or just hang out? Whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be-”

She sensed a ramble coming on and interrupted quickly.

“Why now?”

He looked taken aback. “W-what do you mean?”

“Why now?” she repeated patiently. “You’ve been here for over six months. Why are you asking me out now?”

When he blushed, it was possibly one of the cutest things she’d ever seen. It surprised her how adorable she thought he was just then.

“Truth?”

“Nothing but.”

“I…I thought you wouldn’t go for a guy like me. The new kid. No rep. Second string. I thought you’d think I was a loser and laugh at me for trying. Especially when your sister is…”

“Yeah, I get it,” she snapped with an eye roll, though it was more out of exasperation than unkindness.

“But now that I’m quarterback and we’re winning, people are starting to look at me differently. I thought…I thought maybe this would be my chance. That you would look at me differently too.”

“Let me get this straight. You thought that I was a shallow, bitchy, girl who wouldn’t give you a second thought unless you were a star football player and popular?”

All the color drained from his face.

“No! God, no! I-I didn’t mean it like that! I swear! I don’t think you’re like that. I think you’re awesome. I see you around all the time and I always want to talk to you, but I just never thought I was good enough and you’re so beautiful and I could stare in your eyes forever and-”

Charlie started laughing, which cut off his embarrassing babbling.

“I’m messing with you, Sam,” she said with a grin. “I know why you thought that way. You saw my sister and you thought I’d be like that too. Plus, I’m wearing the uniform now. I’m surprised you even knew the difference today. No one does anymore. I keep telling Quinn I’m gonna go brunette just to keep people from mixing us up.”

“I like your hair,” he said genuinely. “You wouldn’t have to dye it for me to know the difference.”

Damn. Okay. He got points for that one.

 “If you say so.Well, lesson one, Sam? I’m not Quinn. I’m Charlotte Fabray and I don’t care about any of that school status and popularity bullshit. It’s all her and none of me. Lesson two? I’m not dating right now.”

He was crestfallen.

“However,” she said carefully, the lightness disappearing into sincerity now, “I would be open to a friendship at the moment. And maybe…when I’m over my no-dating phase…maybe we could see where we are.”

He nodded thickly and she could see him grabbing on to hope again. It made her smile. She may be dragging a battered heart right now, but it didn’t keep her from smiling at that boy.

“But if you want me, Evans, you gotta work for it. Even if just for friendship.”

“Meaning what?”

“Win the game tonight.”

“Done!”

“And you have to join the Glee club.”

Now that he stumbled over. She wanted to laugh. The game she didn’t care about, this one was the clincher. The boy said he liked her. She wanted to know just how much before anything ever got started.

“Uh…wait…what? No. No, I can’t do that. I just started to get some rep in this school and you want me to trash it?”

“My terms,” she shrugged. “Up to you. Am I worth it?”

At that he took a deep breath.

“You don’t even know if I can sing.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t!”

“And you can play the guitar.”

He stared at her wide-eyed. “How could you know that?”

“Tsk. Sorry. Answers are only given to friends.”

He squared his shoulders determinedly, standing up a little straighter, and raised his chin.

“You’re on.”

“Good,” she said with a pleased nod. “Today, 3:30 in the choir room. Don’t be late.”

When she passed Quinn in the hall, she knew her sister was seeing the boy behind her pumping his fist in the air excitedly. Her twin lifted an eyebrow as if to say ‘really?’.

Charlie just shrugged. ‘Why not?’

Her next class was spent with a smile on her face as she thought about Sam’s boyish exuberance. Maybe it really could happen. She wasn’t toying with him about the ‘no-dating’ thing, it was the last thing in the world she wanted right now, but it came as a genuine surprise how much she liked the idea of spending more time with him. A friend was something she really needed.

Sam Evans?

Stranger things have happened.

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 19) (PART 20)

“Want to ride together today?”

“As if I have a choice.”

Their mother had grounded Charlie and taken away her car for two weeks because she didn’t come home until two o’clock in the morning. No phone call. No nothing. They had been seconds away from calling the police when Charlie stumbled in with Puckerman cradling her in his arms. She had managed a very incoherent phone call to him, only enough said for him to figure out where she was. He had scraped her off the floor of some dive bar in the Heights and taken her home.

Judy started to go off on her before realizing her very inebriated daughter wasn’t hearing a word. Instead, she relented and led Charlie to her room after giving a terse thanks to the boy.

Quinn didn’t say a word to Puck, just closed the door after he left and went back to bed.

The drive to school was filled with complete silence. It was raining. Neither even bothered to turn on the radio. The silence meant something. Said something without anything being said. When Quinn pulled into her designated Cheerios parking spot, she turned off the ignition and sat there. Charlie made no move to leave either. She sat there in sunglasses, slunk down in the passenger seat with her hand on her forehead, no doubt wrestling with her monstrosity of a hangover.

“You were right,” she said gruffly.

“I know.”

Silence fell once more, but still they didn’t leave.

“Are we going to hate each other now?”

Charlie grunted and lifted herself up straighter, finally taking off her sunglasses. She winced at the light even though it was a gray, bleary morning.

“It was my turn to be second best, Quinn,” she sighed. “Only fair. So…no…we’re not going to hate each other.”

“She loves you.”

“And she chose you.”

“Yes, she did.”

“We’re going to be better for this,” she said all of a sudden.

“What?” Quinn looked at her in bewilderment.

“You and me. We’re going to be better people because of her. We’re going to be better sisters. Better friends.”

“You really mean that?”

She nodded. “I’m going to join the Cheerios. Though not today. Please, God, not today.” She groaned and rubbed her head.

“Okay.”

“If Coach makes me Captain, I’m not going to feel guilty for it.”

“She won’t do that,” Quinn snorted. “You may have the talent, Char, but I’ve got the power.”

“Fair enough. I guess we’ll see what happens.”

“I’ll run you ragged.”

“You can try.”

She drummed her fingernails on the steering wheel for a moment. “Charlie?”

“Hm?”

“I think we’re already better people because of her.”

She glanced at her from the corner of her eye and shifted again. “I think you’re right.”

“You should get used to that - me being right. It’ll make things easier.”

“Shut the fuck up, Quinn.”

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART 18) (PART 19) (PART 20)

**SPECIAL THANKS TO kaylasaurustex FOR THE KISS MANIP SINCE I WAS NOT ABOUT TO SUBJECT YOU ALL TO ANOTHER ONE OF MY CRAPPY MANIPS.

Rachel ran up to the Fabray house and pounded wildly on the door. She didn’t stop until Quinn pulled it open with wide eyes, looking like she was in the middle of getting ready for their date and Rachel flung herself into the blonde’s arms, sobbing and kissing her desperately.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she blubbered between kisses, “how could I have been so stupid, how could I not know, I’m so sorry, I love you, please forgive me, please, you have to forgive me Quinn, I’ll die if you don’t, I love you so much!”

She buried her face in her crook of her neck, fisting her hands in the soft blonde hair that fell free for once, and Quinn squeezed her so tightly it hurt, but Rachel didn’t care, it just meant she was still holding her. It took full minutes of sobbing and rambling nearly incoherent pleas of forgiveness for her to realize that Quinn was crying too.

It all came together just then.

The notebook. Charlie in the auditorium. The tears she glimpsed as Quinn had turned away this afternoon…

“You knew!” she croaked in slow realization, pulling away just enough to see her face. “You sent me there on purpose. You knew she was going to be there.”

Quinn only nodded, tears leaking from the corner of her eye, but she brushed them away furiously.

“Why would you do that to me?”

“I did it for you.”

It could have been Charlie she was talking to by the way she looked. Quinn usually kept her hair up to distinguish the twins, not just for the Cheerios, but tonight it was down and she was wearing her regular clothes. But Rachel never once doubted it. There would never be any doubt again. Quinn was Quinn and Charlie was Charlie. There was no mistaking them. Not for her.

“All this time you knew about… And never said-”

“It’s not like you said anything to me!” she retorted harshly.

Rachel cried harder. “I was so afraid…”

“I told you I would do anything to make you happy, Rach. A-at first, I was going to fight Charlie for you. I was going to do anything it took to keep you because I couldn’t bear to lose you, but then I remembered what I promised. I-if being with my sister made you happier than being with me…then…then I needed to let that happen. I promised you, Rachel! I swore!”

“I kissed her, Quinn.”

“I know.”

“She wasn’t you. It had me so confused in the beginning. You guys are so much more alike than you are different, no matter how hard you try. When she tricked me that first time…I started doubting everything. I do love her, Quinn. She’s one of my closest friends, we’ve all grown up together, but when I kissed her, she wasn’t you. She wasn’t. And I wanted her to be.”

“Did-did you like kissing her?”

“Yes,” she answered hoarsely, but unflinchingly. “I did. And to be brutally honest, were we to be together, I would enjoy it.”

Quinn tried not to let it show how badly that hurt. “Oh…”

“But I’m not in love with Charlie,” she continued determinedly. “When I kissed her, yes, it was pleasurable, but it was nothing…absolutely nothing like it is kissing you. I want to kiss you for the rest of my life, Quinn Fabray. I never want anyone else. So…please…please…you have to forgive me for what I did. Forgive me for doubting us. Forgive me for not knowing what I should have known. I-I don’t know what I’ll do if….if I’ve ruined us. God, Quinn…”

“You really want me?” she wondered tearily.

“I’ve always wanted you. I was just too stupid to know that for awhile.”

“You’re many things, Rachel Berry. Obnoxious, beautiful, controlling, magnificent, talented, loving, stubborn, loud, unforgettable…but never stupid.”

“I feel like I’ve done the worst thing in the world.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of putting on a brave front. You…this has been…the worst…” she trailed off and more tears came.

Rachel gently brushed them away with her thumb.

“Can you ever forgive me?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“Yes.”

Her heart leapt frantically with joy.

“But not right away.”

“Okay.” She swallowed thickly with a nod. “I-I can accept that. I understand. W-what do we do then? What do I do to make it up to you?”

“Right now?” She brushed away some of the dark hair that had fallen across her face and looked into her eyes. “You can make love to me.”

“Really?” she whispered, afraid if she said it too loud then Quinn might change her mind.

“It’s going to be hard for me to deal with this for a while, but I don’t want to go through it without you.”

“I’m here. I’ll always be here. No matter what.”

“And don’t think I’m not going to hold this over your head for a long time coming. You will be making it up to me, Rachel Berry.”

“I expected nothing less.”

“Starting now.”

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 15) (PART 17) (PART 18) (PART 19) (PART 20)

Charlie was playing a light melody on the piano when Rachel came in. The brunette stopped short, obviously unprepared to see her there. She glanced around warily, seeing that they were alone in the auditorium. Charlie took her fingers off the keys and looked up at her.

It was a long silence.

“Why are you here?” she finally asked.

“Quinn left her notebook…” Rachel explained quietly, looking like she wished she could turn around and run right back out again.

She held up a purple spiral notebook. “Got it.”

“Oh. Okay. Then…I’ll just go… I’m sorry I disturbed your playing.”

“I thought about what you said.”

It worked. Rachel turned back slowly, taking a few steps towards the piano with a questioning look.

“What I said? Which ‘what I said’? Because as you know, I tend to say a lot of-”

Charlie stood up, effectively cutting Rachel off and came towards her.

“I’m prepared to give you what you asked for.”

She breathed in sharply. “W-what I asked for?”

Charlie nodded, knowing she felt just as nervous and terrified as Rachel looked right now, if not a thousand times more.

“But before I do, you have to know that I have feelings for you.”

“Feelings?”

“Very…very strong feelings,” she clarified.

“O-okay.”

“You just need to understand that before we do this because it’s going to mean more to me than it will to you.”

“Charlotte…” she whispered sadly.

“I’m not telling you that to make you feel bad or to guilt you into anything. This is your test right? You want to know the difference for sure. It’s just, no matter what happens, I need you to know that. And that…that I’m sorry for how I’ve-”

“Don’t apologize,” she said pleadingly. “I don’t think I can hear you apologize to me right now.”

Charlie took her hand, so gently at first, as though it might break, as though she would pull away, as though she would disappear. But she didn’t. So her grip became stronger.

“This is me here. Not Quinn. Not me pretending to be Quinn. It’s me.”

Rachel’s breath hitched in her throat, but she nodded tightly.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

And she did.

When Rachel thanked her and walked away sobbing, Charlie knew the truth.

She found her answer.

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 14) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 18) (PART 19) (PART 20)

“We still on for tonight?”

U.S. History, the last class of the day had just ended and the rest of the class was racing for the door, fighting with the teacher to see who could make it out first. The two of them lingered behind.

“Of course!” Rachel said excitedly. “As if I would ever turn down a chance to attend revival night at the theater with you! Usually there’s an intense amount of bribery involved…”

“I’m still open to all forms of bribes excluding that of monetary value.”

“Why would I bribe you when I’ve already got what I want?” she teased.

Quinn smiled, but Rachel was distracted by someone bumping into her so she never saw how the smile didn’t quite reach fruition and how quickly it disappeared. She came around the desks and took Rachel’s arm gently, pulling her a little closer.  The brunette grinned. She didn’t know the reason for the gesture, but it’s not like she needed one. Just happy to be close, she curled her arms around Quinn’s shoulders. They were alone now.

“Do you remember our first date?” Quinn asked quietly.

Rachel’s eyes clouded with the painful memory, unprepared for it to be brought up so unassumingly. It took her a while to respond, but Quinn just waited.

“How could I forget?” she said bitterly. “The night you got so angry… Screamed at me in front of an entire crowd of people. Told me I was disgusting. I wasn’t fit to breathe the same air as you. I was ugly. I was pathetic. Shrieked at me to never to come near you again…like I was some kind of monster… Yes, I remember it well.” She took her arms away and wrapped them around herself instead. “Why would you bring that up?”

Quinn wasn’t finished yet. “Do you remember how I came to you later that night? 3AM, pounding on the door, still sobbing like I had been for hours?”

“My fathers were quite displeased. They almost didn’t let you in.”

“But you let me in.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I loved you.”

“Even though I did that?”

Rachel sighed. “You hurt me so terribly, Quinn. You made me feel like nothing. Like I was worthless. I have never been so badly wounded as I was by you that night and will probably never face anything in my life again that will scar me as you did. But as badly, as wretchedly, as it hurt me, I could see that it had hurt you more.”

She nodded tightly. “When you let me inside, I told you how sorry I was, how ashamed, how guilty. How terrified I was of the things you made me feel.”

“Quinn…” Rachel didn’t know why they were talking about this. It happened over four years ago, they were long past this.

Yet she persisted. “I swore to you that if you could find a way to forgive me, to forgive me for hurting you so terribly, so undeservingly, that I would spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

“I remember,” she whispered.

“I swore that I would never hurt you like that again, that I would do anything to protect you, that I would do anything to make you happy. Anything. Because I love you.”

Rachel was near tears. “I love you too. Why are you saying this?”

“I just wanted to make sure you remembered.” She kissed her gently and picked up her bag. “See you tonight?” she asked, as though nothing at all had occurred.

The brunette was at a loss for words.

“Oh shoot,” she said, rummaging through her bag. “I have to go, Mom needs me to run errands, but I left my notebook on the piano in the auditorium. Can you grab it for me? Give it to me later?”

“Sure, but, sweetie, why are you so-?”

She cut her off with another peck on the lips. “Thank you.”

Rachel watched her leave the classroom with a sick sort of feeling settling low in her stomach. Just before Quinn turned away, she saw the tears in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“The Switch” (PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11) (PART 12) (PART 13) (PART 15) (PART 16) (PART17) (PART 18) (PART 19) (PART 20)

Quinn Fabray was in full on HBIC mode when she stormed into the empty classroom to confront her sister, but Charlie was ready for her. She didn’t bother to stand as her twin stared down at her fearsomely, only glared back with her own HBIC face. They really were more alike than different when it came down to it.

“So much for not fighting for her. Was this your plan all along?”

“Does it make a difference?”

“Why did you do this?”

“Do what? I’m not doing a thing. She asked me to kiss her, Quinn B. You sure you want a girl like that?”

“Fuck you,” she hissed. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? Fuck you! I’m your sister, there’s no one who knows more of what’s in that head of yours than me. You want me to give up, to not fight you for her. Better all around, hm? Well, I’m not. I love Rachel. This doesn’t change that. I know she still loves me. You’ve had years to see her, Charlie, and you didn’t get it. You didn’t know what was there. You still don’t! I did! I do! You’re just an infatuation. A girl who shares my face. She’ll realize it before long and then what? You get dumped. I get her back. We all move on. End story.”

“I love her, Quinn.”

“You only think you do.”

Charlie glared up at her. “Is that right? Well then, guess I’ll have to prove you wrong. Looks like we’ll be having that fight of a lifetime after all.”

 “You don’t get it, do you?” She smiled placidly. “This is the one time I’m going to beat you, fair and square. You never needed to give me this, Charlie, I already had it. Rachel loves me and no matter what you do, that’s not going to change. If she’s kissing you, don’t think for one second it’s not going to be me in her head. My name she’ll try to keep from crying out. Save yourself the time and trouble, little sister, this one is all mine.”

“If you really had her, she wouldn’t have come to me,” she sneered.

Quinn scoffed sadly. “I always thought you were smarter than that, Char-Bear. Looks like it’ll take you getting your heart broken to figure it out.”

She walked out into an empty hallway, leaving Charlie alone. Maybe it was a twin thing. Maybe it wasn’t. But both of them felt like their hearts had just been torn out.